Emergency unchoking elevator



Nova 25, 1952 E, KR H EL ET AL 2,619,218

EMERGENCY UNCHOKING ELEVATOR Filed March 10, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 IINVENTOR. flanz'el Bifrehbz'el 1 EZmer Zerger m flayfmra ATTD RN EYSNov. 25, 1952 D. E. KREHBIEL ETAL 2,619,218 EMERGENCY uNcHoKmc; ELEVATORFiled March 10, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. D012 zi lflfireiz'a ZATI'D RN EYS Patented Nov. 25, 1952 EMERGENCY UNCHOKING ELEVATOR DanielE. Krehbiel and Elmer Zerger, Pretty Prairie, Kans.

Application March 10, 1950, Serial No. 148,762

4 Claims.

This invention relates to elevators of the industrial type having screwsor chains with buckets r flights for conveying products such as grain,coal, and the like upwardly to bins, hoppers and distributing conveyors,and in particular this invention relates to an auxiliary or emergencyelevator for unchoking or relieving an elevator in a break down whereproducts have dropped downwardly through the elevator shaft andaccumulated in the boot pit, or lower end of the housing so that theelevator is inoperative until the products are removed.

The purpose of this invention is to provide means for incorporating acomparatively small emergency elevator in the boot of an industrialelevator for removing products that choke the elevator where theelevator has been halted by a break down or the like, and that may alsobe used for removing accumulations of products in a pit or around thelower end of an elevator.

The usual industrial type elevator is formed with chains having bucketsthereon and the buckets scop up grain, coal or the like from a hopper orboot at the base of the elevator and carry the products upwardly throughthe elevator shaft. In this type of elevator products are fed throughchutes of feeder conveyors through the boot of the elevator and when theelevator is accidently halted the products are continuously fed untilmanually stopped and in this short period of time suificient productsare deposited in the boot of the elevator to choke the same. The same istrue in the elevator of the screw type. With this thought in mind thisinvention contemplates an auxiliary elevator either of the chain andbucket type or of the screw or auger type which is positioned to receiveproducts from the boot of the larger elevator whereby the products areconveyed to a temporary bin in which they are stored until the elevatoris repaired and from which the products may flow by gravity into theboot of the elevator after the elevator is running.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means forincorporating an auxiliary elevator in the boot or hopper at the lowerend of an elevator for relieving products from the elevator boot in anemergency.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary emergencyelevator that may be used in combination with elevators of differenttypes.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary emergencyelevator for unchocking or relieving elevators which is of a simple andeconomical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies an elevator having a feeder conveyor or chute at the lower endwith a discharge chute at the upper end whereby the feeder conveyor ochute at the lower end is positioned to be inserted or attached to aboot or hopper at the lower end of an elevator.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the auxiliary elevatorin combination with an elevator of the grain carrying type.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the auxiliary elevator takenon line 2-2 of Figure l and showing the elevator removed from the mainelevator.

Figure 3 is a front elevaticnal View illustrating the auxiliary elevatorunit.

Figure 4 is a cross section through the auxiliary elevator taken on line4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail showing a gate in the lower end of a bin positionedto receive products from the auxiliary elevator.

Figure 6 is a section similar to that shown in Figure 2 illustrating amodification wherein the auxiliary elevator is formed with a screw orauger.

Refering now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the emergency auxiliary elevator of this invention,in the design shown in Figure 1, includes a tubular elevator shaft I0having a boot ii on the lower end, a housing [2 on the upper end with achute l3 depending therefrom. The boot on the lower end is provided witha feeder tube l4 having a screw conveyor l5 therein which feeds productsto the boot or hopper l I from which they are elevated by flights Hi onan endless belt ll.

In the design shown the auxiliary elevator is of the belt type whereinspaced nights are mounted on the belt and positioned to scrape grain andthe like upwardly through the tube I0. The endless belt extends around atail pulley l8 on a shaft l9 which is journaled in a bearing 20 of theboot I I and the screw conveyor 15 is formed with a spiral vane which ispositioned on the shaft l 9. The outer end of the tube M is providedwith an opening 2! through which grain and the like pass to the screwconveyor [5. The tube M is secured in the side of the boot H by a flange22 and the tube is supported by a diagonal brace 23.

The belt I! also extends over a head pulley 24 on a shaft 25 that isjournaled in bearings 26 and 21 on the housing I2 and the shaft isprovided with a pulley 23 by which the elevator is operated from a motor29 by a belt 30, the belt 30 being positioned over a pulley 3! on themotor shaft.

With the parts arranged in this manner the tube [4 on the lower end ofthe auxiliary elevator is extended into a recess or hopper 32 at thelower end of a boot 33 of a main elevator in which buckets 34 arecarried on an endless belt or chain 35. The elevator is provided with apulley, or with sprockets as indicated by the numeral 36 and the pulleyor sprockets are mounted on a shaft 31.

With the tube l4 extended under the main elevator products accumulatingin the boot 33 pass through the opening 2| and into the screw conveyorby which the products are fed to the tube or shaft where they are pickedup by the flights l6 and conveyed upwardly through the tube [0 to thehousing I2 from which they pass through the chute l3 into a temporarystorage bin 38. The bin 38 is supported by posts 39 and a gate 40 at oneside thereof holds the products therein until the main elevator isrepaired.

The gate 46 is actuated by a rod 4| and, as illustrated in Figure thegate is slidably mounted in tracks 42 and 43 at the sides of an opening44. A chute 45 is provided at the lower end of the opening over whichthe products pass to the elevator boot 33 when the gate 40 is open.

The motor 29 is mounted on a platform 46 that is mounted on the elevatorshaft or tube I0, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

In the design illustrated in Figure 6 the auxiliary elevator is formedwith a screw conveyor 41 in a tubular shaft 48, similar to the tube i6and this elevator is provided with a hopper 49 that is positioned toreceive products from a boot 50 of a main elevator, or the like whereinthe products drop into the auxiliary elevator by gravity.

The shaft 5! of the screw conveyor 4? extends into a motor housing 52mounted on the upper end of the tube 46 with the motor housing having aflange 53 that is bolted to a flange 54 of the tube 48 by bolts 55. Achute 56 at the upper end of the shaft 38 carries the products back to abin similar to the bin 38 by gravity, and from the bin the products flowto the boot of the elevator casing when the elevator is repaired.

With the parts arranged in this manner the tube 14 is positioned in ahopper or recess below the lower pulley of an elevator and with theupper end positioned to deliver products into a temporary storage bin,products accumulated in the lower end of an elevator housing or boot areconveyed to the temporary storage bin, and after the elevator isrepaired the products are delivered by gravity from the temporarystorage bin to the lower end or boot of the elevator, from where theyare elevated or conveyed to conveyors or bins for which they wereoriginally intended.

The auxiliary elevator may also be used to elevate ccumulations of grainor other products in a pit or around the lower end of an elevator. if'hegrain or the like may be shoveled or scraped into the lower end of theauxiliary so that pits and the like may readily be cleaned thereby.

It will also be understood that the hopper 49, of the design shown inFigure 6, may be built into or formed integral with the boot or hopper tthe lower end of an elevator, whereby a permanent installation isprovided and this type of installation may be incorporated in originalelevator housings and used with elevators of the types shown in Figure 1or 6, or with elevators of other designs.

It will be understood that other modifications may be made in the designand arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an emergency auxiliary elevator, the combination which comprisesan elevator having a boot, a temporary storage bin positioned beside theelevator and having a chute for feeding products therefrom to the bootof the elevator by gravity, a gate in the said chute, a feeder conveyorextended into the boot of the elevator, an

auxiliary elevator positioned to receive products from the feederconveyor and deliver said products to the temporary storage bin, a chuteextended from the upper end of the auxiliary elevator for carryingproducts from the auxiliary elevator to the bin by gravity, and meansmounted on the auxiliary elevator for driving the auxiliary elevator andfeeder conveyor.

2. In an emergency auxiliary elevator, the combination which comprisesan elevator having a boot, a temporary storage bin positioned beside theelevator and having a chute for feeding products therefrom to the bootof the elevator by gravity, a gate in the said chute, a tubularauxiliary elevator shaft, a tail pulley positioned in the lower end ofthe auxiliary elevator shaft, a head pulley positioned in the upper endof the auxiliary elevator shaft, an endless belt trained over the headand tail pulleys, flights mounted in spaced relation on the outersurface of the endless belt, a feeder conveyor tube extended from thelower end of the auxiliary elevator shaft, a screw conveyor in saidfeeder tube actuated by the tail pulley of the auxiliary elevator, saidfeeder tube extended into the boot of the elevator, a chute extendedfrom the upper end of the auxiliary elevator shaft for deliveringproducts conveyed by the auxiliary elevator to the temporary storagebin, a motor platform positioned on the auxiliary elevator shaft, amotor positioned on the motor platform, and means driving the endlessbelt of the auxiliary elevator by the motor through the head pulley ofthe auxiliary elevator.

3. In an emergency auxiliary elevator, the combination which comprisesan elevator having a boot, a temporary storage bin positioned beside theelevator and having a chute for feeding products therefrom to the bootof the elevator by gravity, a gate in the said chute, a feeder conveyorextended into the boot of the elevator, an auxiliary elevator positionedto receive products from the feeder conveyor and deliver said productsto the temporary storage bin, a chute extended from the upper end of theauxiliary elevator for carrying products from the auxiliary elevator tothe bin by gravity, said auxiliary elevator having an opening in thelower end for receiving accumulations of products at the lower end ofthe said elevator.

4. In an emergency auxiliary elevator, the combination which comprisesan elevator having a boot, a temporary storage bin positioned beside theelevator and having a chute for feeding products therefrom to the bootof the elevator by gravity, a gate in the said chute, a feeder conveyorextended into the boot of the elevator, an auxiliary elevator positionedto receive products from the feeder conveyor and deliver said productsto the temporary storage bin, a chute extended from the auxiliaryelevator for carrying products from the auxiliary elevator to the bin bygravity, and means for driving the auxiliary elevator and feederconveyor.

DANIEL KREHBIEL. ELMER ZERGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,570,521 Parliament Jan. 19,1926 1,863,562 Cannon June 21, 1932

